Swamp White Oak

Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) is a useful, proven shade tree with impressive clean foliage and interesting flaky bark. It grows naturally in bottomlands and swamps, which translates to adaptability of our variable (compact, too wet, too dry) urban soils. Quercus bicolor was chosen as the 1998 Urban Tree of the Year by the Society of Municipal Arborists and Iowa Tree of the Year for 2003. For other excellent urban oak trees, look at Q. lyrata, Q. nuttallii, Q. phellos.